Over the Mountains

On the road once again, we planned on one more stop in Switzerland. Today’s travels would take us past Lake Geneva, up the Valais Valley, over the Furka and St. Gotthard pass, and finally down to Lugano on the shores of a lake by the same name. Gone were the German and French languages, we were back in the land of Italian. While the Italian border was still a few miles away, you’d never know it. We decided to spend two nights here and fill our days exploring the little villages along the lake. 

One unusual thing we found in Lugano was a bank on every corner (2nd only to Zurich).  As some of you may know, Switzerland is known for its secret bank accounts, allowing people from around the world to safely stash their cash. In fact, in exchange for the secrecy, accounts here actually earn negative interest when it’s all said and done. This industry we learned, is one of the big reasons Switzerland sticks with its franc and doesn’t conform to the Union and its Euro (there's no secrets in the Union).  This is very convenient for the Italians bringing their suitcases of cash, and according to the locals, George W. Bush stops by annually as well.

Getting back on track, these first three photos were taken in Reckingen, which is part of the Valais Valley.  Notice the unique architecture of some of these barns.  The main posts are balanced on flat rocks which keep the mice out of the hay.  We were told the barns are hundreds of years old and the design is unique to this area.

From this angle you can see right under the barn.

This steam train was working its way up the mountain alongside us.

The kids were happy to share their crackers with this mountain critter.
This is September 14 on the Furka Pass at an elevation of 8000 feet.  The plows had just come through and it was cold!  The Furka Pass is home to the Rhone Glacier which is the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva. 

The bell tower in Gandria, Switzerland, along Lake Lugano.
The cathedral in Morcote, also on Lake Lugano.
Strolling along the shore in downtown Lugano.
The gnomes are a popular lawn ornament in Switzerland.

What's the language in Switzerland?

Do you know the answer to this question? Chances are, if you take a guess, you’ll be at least partially right. You see, Switzerland has four official languages…German, French, Italian, and Romansh. Most of the country speaks Swiss German (which Germans can’t understand), but they write and are taught in standard German. If a Swiss native is talking with a German or Austrian, they will usually switch to accommodate them.

Now if that’s not confusing enough, most regions, even valleys, add their own dialect, making every 20 miles technically another language. (Not that we can understand any of it in the first place.) Our stay near Gruyere was in the French region and our host said we would find over a dozen different Swiss-French dialects within 50 miles. Near Lugano it will be back to Italian - with a Swiss flair of course.

I’m still not sure how a government can go about business with so many languages and dialects within its borders. And speaking of the government, did you know they have the final say on names for your new baby? All baby names must be submitted and approved by the government. For this reason you will not find a Swiss named Paris (that’s a city), seven (that’s a number), or moonbeam (that’s a light in the sky).

The Swiss Army

When you mention “Swiss Army”, most people think knives. While you do see the knives all over, it’s some of the other military references we found so interesting.

Switzerland is well known as a neutral country and its army does not take part in armed conflicts in other countries. But this doesn’t stop them from assembling a large military for defensive purposes. As you wander through this beautiful country, it was interesting to find what lies just beneath the surface. All the key bridges, tunnels, and mountain passes are primed with explosives, so that in the event of an invasion, the country becomes one big mountain fortress. Airstrips, command centers, and hospitals, are hidden and carved right in the side of mountains. And while ordinary hay barns dot the landscape, open the door and you might find a missile launcher instead of food for the cows. But with today’s military spending cuts (like many other countries), some of the 15,000 hidden fortresses have been turned into tourist’s attractions.

As for the soldiers, every male in Switzerland between the ages of 19 and 31, must serve in the military. (For women it’s voluntary.) When men (or boys for that matter) turn 19 they serve an initial 22 weeks, followed up by 3 or 4 weeks per year. Many try to avoid promotion in the ranks because this just means longer service time.

All soldiers are required to keep their rifle and uniforms at home for immediate immobilization, as well as 50 rounds of ammunition in a sealed tin. (This is for self-defense if attacked on their way to a mobilization point.) Soldiers must also take their rifles to a shooting range each year for target practice. We found the “Schiessubungen” posters everywhere, which show the dates and locations for everyone to report. If they do not meet a minimum score in target practice, it means extra service time in the given year. And if they do not appear at their assigned time, it's 3 days in jail.

A few more interesting tidbits…

• Even today, all new building permits must include a first class radiation/bomb shelter.
  
• If you become a Swiss citizen after the age of 25, you will not be summoned, but instead pay an additional 3% annual income tax.
  
• Soldiers can only delay service to finish high school, not to start college.
  
• Men who want to apply for the Swiss Guard (unit that has protected the Pope in Vatican City since 1471), must complete basic training, be single between 19 and 30 years old, and at least 5’ 8½” tall.
  
• And finally, Swiss Army Knives are in fact issued to all new recruits.
  

A Swiss fighter doing a little training along our route to Lauterbrunnen.
This is the Gimmelwald Fire Station, with all the shooting practice schedules posted on the side.
We happen to pass this earth-covered base near Ariolo.

Cheese & Chocolate

As advertised, one of the highlights in Switzerland has definitely been the cheese and chocolate. As I mentioned earlier, we’ve been told it all starts with the abundance of high quality Swiss milk. Most cows in Switzerland spend half the year grazing at altitudes most people never see. The milk quality seems trivial, but we still haven’t found one city in Europe that doesn’t sell exclusively fresh milk by the liter only. But while it may be fresh everywhere, the Swiss milk was unbelievably good. It’s hard to explain, and you might think I’m writing this just to exaggerate my post, but this has to be the best milk I’ve ever tasted and Angie is quick to agree.

While up in the mountains, we stopped at one cheese hut located at about 4000 feet. While this may be high, the cows and cheese making were well above us, at around 6000 to 7000 feet. Every region has its own specialty, with over 450 varities throughout Switzerland. Some of the better known include Appenzeller, Emmentaler, Gruyere, Sbrinz, Tete de Moine, and Vacherin. Our favorites were the Emmantaler (full of holes like swiss cheese) on sandwiches and the Appenzeller (stinky, but oh so good) with wine. Even the kids have a new appreciation for cheese.  Cole likes the younger varieties while the girls prefer them aged.

We stopped to visit a couple of demonstration cheese plants during our journey and one very special cheese-maker. Moleson Fromagrie d’ Alpage has been producing cheese in the same chalet since 1686, still using huge cauldrons over a roaring fire.

On the sweeter side of things is the Swiss chocolate. Francois Callier, the man who is considered the pioneer of Swiss chocolate making, opened the first Swiss chocolate factory in 1819. The factory is still in operation, but today is owned by Nestle. But while the Nestle chocolate is made to conform with global specifications, the Callier brand is the only Swiss chocolate using condensed milk instead of milk powder. We of course conducted our own taste test and you could definitely tell the difference.The cows get to wear these huge ceremonial bells as they parade to and from the high Alps. While the cows are away at their summer home, the bells are neatly hung under the eave.
When the cows are away, the farmers turn much of their attention to making and storing hay for the upcoming winter.  Most of the land you find them harvesting is especially steep, thus it's all done by hand.
This is the cheese hut in the mountains we bought our cheese from.  The next photo is the farmer cutting us samples inside the hut.

This is one of the cheese-makers from Moleson Fromagerie d’ Alpage. Here he's using a linen cloth to extract the curd from the cauldron and place it in the moulds.
Cole is getting ready to transport some cheese to the storage hut.
Another cute cheese hut in the mountains.

After the Callier tour, the free samples were everywhere.  Tray after tray after tray was just too much to resist.  I must admit, I didn't need lunch.

Are we in Switzerland or Madison, Wisconsin?  This red and white cow was outside the Alprose Chocolate factory in Lugano.
Watching the chocolate bars whiz by.
From an unwrapped chocolate bar to a box ready to ship in about 10 seconds.

Bern & Beyond

After our all-too-quick stay in Lauterbrunnen, we left early for what would be a full day of sights (the kids love that). We started in Bern, the Capital of Switzerland, with a brief city tour of the highlights. For the kids the best part was the bear pit. Bern’s city symbol is the bear and they keep a couple of them right in town. Bern is also the city that Albert Einstein wrote most of his Nobel Prize winning papers that would later shock the world, including E=mc². After publishing several papers, his growing reputation won him a prestigious teaching position in Zurich in 1909, and later it was on to the United States when Hitler took power in nearby Germany.

After Bern it was on to Murten, a perfectly preserved medieval town, complete with the old fortification walls. One of the main events in the town's history is the 1476 Battle of Murten, a huge victory against Burgundy. As a reminder of this battle, there are several cannon balls (well over 500 years old) still lodged in the wall surrounding the city.

After Murten we headed for Gruyere. Best known for its cheese, the little town was loaded with tourists. We walked up and down the town’s one street, checked out the town castle, visited an alien bar (see photo), learned about the cheese, and then headed for the next place we would call home. Before leaving though, we did buy some cheese and made our own fondue for dinner. Angie and I loved it, but the kids were a little on the fence about the whole thing. After dinner we unpacked for three more nights, and over those three days managed to consume a massive amount of cheese.

The weather turned a bit rainy the next couple of days, something we haven’t dealt with in a long time. Day one of rainy weather activities took us to a 350 year-old cheese factory (that’s still making cheese under the same roof using the "old world" methods) and a well-known Swiss Chocolate factory, but more on those in a future post. Day two of rainy weather took us castle hunting. We headed to Lake Geneva, and after a quick look through Vevey and Montreux, we found our destination. Chateau de Chillon is built on a small island on the eastern end of Lake Geneva, and this castle had it all. Situated along a strategic north-south trade route, it’s always been occupied and thus maintained. From draw-bridges and canons to dungeons and look-out towers, this giant castle kept us busy all day. It even had the original 700 year-old toilets. (And if you’re curious, they were seats with a hole suspended three stories over the lake. A little drafty come winter.)Cole and Mia loved guessing where the next fountain would pop-up in front of Switzerland's Capital.
...whereas Ella preferred to stay outside the perimeter.
Albert Einstein's house.
The main drag in Bern.

The Murten Police Station.
Walking the city walls in Murten.
Main street (and the only street) in Gruyere, Switzerland, leading to the town castle.
Totally out of place in Gruyere is this alien museum.  The creator of the Alien movies bought a chateau here, and now uses this unlikely spot to display his creations.
Chateau de Chillon
As we take a break in the ballroom, Cole maps out our next move.

Montreux is most famous for its annual jazz festival.  Here's Cole hanging out with B.B. along the lakeshore.

EXTREME!

As I mentioned in the last post, the Alps attract a variety of people from all over the world. Among them are base jumpers looking to conquer the mountains. Douges was one such character that happened to be staying at our chalet. For those of you who don’t know, "base" is an acronym standing for Building, Antenna, Span, and Earth. Jumpers will start with an unopened parachute and launch themselves off any stationary object high enough, in this case the mountain of course. Around the kitchen Douges had everyone laughing with his stories and viewpoints on such topics as American politics. But on the mountain it's business (can you really call it that?), and he is supposedly at the top of his sport. A former world champion, numerous gold medals, world record holder, and the list goes on.

He lives an adrenaline filled life and would have it no other way. His success in the sport has allowed him to jump, perform stunts, make documentaries, and even write books, almost year round. He doesn’t work to collect material possessions, but to travel around the world and advance in the sport he loves.

“In the end, life is all about the experiences you create. Why have a 42” TV and watch someone’s else’s experiences; get a 20” and create your own memories.” - Douges

Here's Douges with his newest recruits, all sporting the Base Dreams (Douges company) bumper stickers.

Suited up and ready for flight!
These photos are borrowed from Douges of course, and you can almost see our hotel in the valley below.